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Reporter
to spend month on Cuban rations
By Anita Snow, Associated
Press Writer. May 31, 2007.
HAVANA - The ration book that determines
most Cuban diets - and that will briefly
rule mine - fits in my palm. Thick brown
pages list amounts of foodstuffs to be checked,
signed and stamped at "la bodega,"
the local government distribution center.
In my eight years as Havana bureau chief
for The Associated Press, I've developed
great friendships and deep respect for the
Cuban people. But as a foreigner paid in
U.S. dollars, I've never lived the way most
Cubans do, using their ingenuity to make
sure there's enough to eat at month's end.
The foundation of the Cuban diet is the
communist government's ration book, or "libreta,"
and as a foreigner, I'm not entitled to
one. Cubans, meanwhile, are barred by law
from selling or trading their deeply subsidized
rations, which cost 33 Cuban pesos a month,
about $1.30. That's roughly 10 percent of
the average government salary of 350 Cuban
pesos, about $16.
But food is so central to life and culture
that I won't fully appreciate the Cuban
experience until I eat as they do. So I've
decided to spend June eating nothing but
the rations and other food that Cubans earning
an average salary can buy at farmers' markets
using Cuban pesos.
High in carbohydrates, the ration is a
safety net for basic food needs, providing
just 10 to 15 days of monthly nutritional
requirements, depending on eating habits.
My plan is to eat only the amounts and kinds
of food listed in a friend's "libreta,"
plus whatever extras most Cubans buy at
approved stores and markets.
My project comes amid debate over the 45-year-old
universal food ration. Many say it's unfair
to give all Cubans the same allotment irrespective
of income. Even
Fidel Castro has said Cuba is "creating
conditions for the libreta to disappear."
To make sure I consume the same products
Cubans get as rations, a friend gave me
part of his monthly allotment - coffee (4
ounces), vegetable oil (2 cups), rice (6
pounds) and dried legumes (10 ounces), including
the black beans Cubans love and the split
peas they hate.
My friend won't sell me his rations or
trade them for what I could buy elsewhere
- technically illegal but relatively common
practices that are increasingly criticized
in Cuba. For instance, Cubans who don't
drink coffee or like fish will often sell
or trade their rations for something they
need, such as more yogurt for a child or
extra rice.
My friend also cannot sacrifice the five
pounds of sugar his wife uses for family
desserts, or spare his monthly animal protein:
10 eggs, a half-pound of chicken, 10 ounces
of fish, and about a pound of other meat
including a mix of hot dogs, more chicken,
a ham-like product called "jamonada"
and "picadillo texturizado" -
a bland ground beef-type mixture of mostly
soy.
I'll have to buy the most similar products
I can find at the "shopping" -
an overpriced government supermarket with
prices in Cuban convertible pesos - and
do my best to make such things as vegetarian
chili using only the ingredients average
Cubans can get. I'll also need to find substitutes
for other rations my friend can't spare
- the half-pound of dried pasta, pound of
crackers and four pounds of potatoes. (My
friend does promise to give me his daily
bread rolls - one for each day.)
Because potatoes are almost impossible
to get without buying them "por la
izquierda," or "under the table,"
I'll substitute boniato - Cuban sweet potatoes
bought with regular pesos at farmers' markets
known as agros. I'll also shop at agros
for fresh produce, eggs and more dried legumes,
spending only what the average Cuban can
afford.
Rations aside, Cubans also eat a lot of
other government-subsized food, such as
sizeable hot lunches at workplace dining
rooms for less than 1.20 regular pesos,
or 6 U.S. cents. And while most schoolchildren
go home for lunch, kids with working parents
get a hot meal as well.
During this month of living on the libreta,
I'll track my spending and post the results
in an AP blog. I hope to develop healthier
eating habits out of necessity: cutting
down on red meat and dairy products, planning
meals ahead, buying fresh produce at the
agros.
But come July 1, I'll also be ready for
a big, juicy steak.
On the Net:
U.N.
Food and Agriculture Organization country
profile for Cuba
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